Laser Cutting Machine



        

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Laser Cutting Services

If purchasing a laser cutting machine is too costly for you, seeking the help of laser cutting service providers is your best option. Laser cutting service providers make use of high precision, high-speed and high power laser cutting machines to cut wide variety of materials including metal, plastic, rubber, wood, stone, glass and other composite materials.

Laser cutting technology is advantageous, especially if you are in the metal fabrication business since laser can cut sheet and tubular profile metals and multi-dimension metals with extreme precision. Metals cut by a laser are clean, distortion free and need not undergo further processing. Hence, you can significantly reduce production expenses and production time if you use this technology.

The most commonly used lasers for cutting are CO2 lasers (carbon dioxide lasers) and Nd:YAG lasers (neodymium-doped, yttrium aluminum garnet lasers). CO2 lasers are usually operated with 1-1.5 kilo watts, although thicker metals may need more than more than 2000-watt laser power. A 5 kW carbon dioxide laser is capable of cutting even up to 30m of a 1 mm thick material in a minute.

Carbon dioxide and Nd:YAG lasers work by focusing the highly concentrated beam of single-wavelength light on a tiny area of the material to be cut, usually less than .5 millimeter in size. The laser light is transmitted to the object through special lenses. A small hole is first made and then a cut is generated by moving the laser beam across the area being cut or by moving the object while the laser stands still.

Services offered by laser cutting companies vary. Most services offered by companies in US usually come in a package in conjunction with other services like support in conceptualizing of design, use of CAD/CAM, quality control, technical consulting and delivery of products.

Complete laser cutting service providers also help you source high quality materials, determine manufacturing cost, evaluate, redesign and improve your products so as to increase their market value.

If you want excellent laser cutting services, it would be best to look for service providers that meet highest quality standards.

Laser Cutting provides detailed information on Laser Cutting, Laser Cutting Companies, Laser Cutting Machines, Laser Cutting Services and more. Laser Cutting is affiliated with Lean Manufacturing Seminars.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Laser Cutting

Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser in cutting different kinds of materials, mostly metals such as carbon steel, aluminum, stainless steel and copper alloys. It is widely used in the metal fabrication industry to increase cutting speed and cutting capacity, reduce production costs, increase productivity and improve cutting quality.

A laser or LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) is a device that generates a highly concentrated monochromatic and coherent beam of light. The light is produced through the process of stimulated emission.

Among the most commonly used laser in cutting is the carbon dioxide laser (CO2 laser), a kind of gas laser that is also used in welding. It is capable of emitting a maximum of 100 kilowatts at 9.6 µm and 10.6 µm and of cutting 20-30 m of one millimeter-thick material in a minute.

Cutting is done by aiming the energy produced by the high-power laser at a small portion of the object to be cut. That small portion is pierced first before a cut is made.

From the small hole, a cut is created either by moving the beam across the area of the material being cut, or by moving the object while the laser is kept still. One can employ both methods. As the intense beam of light strikes the part of the object or material, the latter?s temperature rises, causing it to melt, burn and evaporate even without sufficient amount of heat.

Not all materials require the same amount of laser power (the rate at which energy is delivered by the light). Thicker materials need more laser power while thinner ones need lesser laser power. Usually, carbon dioxide laser cutting is done with 1,000 to 1,500 watts. Materials such as steel need more than two kW.

Compared to other metal cutting procedures, laser cutting is far more advantageous, although it has some disadvantages, too. Its primary advantages are precision, cutting quality, cutting speed and economy. Among its disadvantages is its high voltage requirement. There is also risk of getting serious burns from the laser beam.

Laser Cutting provides detailed information on Laser Cutting, Laser Cutting Companies, Laser Cutting Machines, Laser Cutting Services and more. Laser Cutting is affiliated with Lean Manufacturing Seminars.

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Laser Cutting Companies

Since Theodore Maiman invented the first functional laser or LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) in 1960, this device, which generates a strong, highly concentrated beam of single-wavelength light, has found several uses in different industries and in various fields including medicine, consumer electronics and information technology.

Its most prominent industrial use is laser cutting. It is said that about $4.5 billion worth of laser cutting systems are being used around the world today. Most of them are being used in Japan.

In the U.S., the technology is also recognized for making companies in the automotive, aerospace, garment, architectural, construction and furniture manufacturing industries more competitive in terms of productivity and quality.

As laser cutting technology gets more advanced, and as its application gets more comprehensive, laser cutting companies are also offering high rates. These companies either manufacture laser cutting equipment or provide high-precision laser cutting facilities and services.

Many laser cutting service providers offer other services such as etching, slotting, plasma cutting, welding, punching forming and polishing of metals, aside from distortion-free metal cutting. Laser cutting of other materials such as wood, ceramics, plastics and rubber are also offered by these companies.

A complete laser cutting service package may cover designing of the parts, furnishing of materials, state-of-the-art laser cutting, quality control, delivery of parts and technical consulting services.

Laser cutting equipment manufacturers, on the other hand, make several kinds of lasers, ranging from flying optic lasers to hybrids lasers, Pivot-beam lasers and pulsed lasers. The flying optic laser is widely used for its inexpensive stationary tables and fast positioning speed (about 300m per minute). It is capable of cutting complex metal parts with small notches and intricate contours.

For piercing, it is best to use a pulsed laser since this type of laser produces a high amount of energy within a very short period of time. If you use a laser with a constant beam, the whole material being cut may melt.

The benefits of getting service from a reliable laser cutting company are many. The laser equipment only needs small floor space, it uses a small amount of heat so warping is avoided, it cuts with precision so you can minimize cutting wastes, laser cutting has lower risks of injury, and lasers cut fast, helping you increase production.

Laser Cutting provides detailed information on Laser Cutting, Laser Cutting Companies, Laser Cutting Machines, Laser Cutting Services and more. Laser Cutting is affiliated with Lean Manufacturing Seminars.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Laser Cutting Machines

The word laser is used as a common name, but it is actually an acronym that stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The highly concentrated beam of light it produces can quickly apply energy even to a minute area. It can be easily controlled by mirrors and lenses and essentially as light. It can travel at the highest speed possible, can travel in a straight line in an empty space and can transmit information.

With these properties of laser light, laser has found numerous uses; among them is in cutting. A laser cutter works by focusing the huge amount of energy it produces on a small area (even microscopic). The constant beam of light that hits the area causes it to melt or evaporate. A cut is generated by moving the object being cut or by moving the laser beam across the surface.

As a tool in cutting, a laser cutting machine has several applications. Some of its well-known applications are in medicine as a surgical tool, in craft-making and lithography as an etching tool, in garment industry as fabric cutter and in metal fabrication as welding and cutting tool.

Laser cutting of metals is laser?s most common and most beneficial industrial application. By means of a laser cutting machine, metals with complex profiles and contours can be easily and seamlessly cut. Its high quality cutting capability and fast cutting speeds eliminate further processing of metals, reduces production cost and improve productivity of certain companies using the technology.

The advancements in laser cutting machines, which includes enhancement of the beam quality, laser power, ease of use and operation and material, made it possible for a laser cutting machine to cut metals with multi-dimensions and tubular profiles. Highly advanced laser cutting machines with this capability are quite helpful in the automotive industry.

Among the laser cutting machines used in cutting metals are flying-optic lasers, hybrid lasers, punch-laser machines, pivot-beam lasers and pulsed lasers.

Flying-optic laser cutting machines have high cutting speeds yet they are less expensive because of their fixed X and Y axis table. They are able to move over the material being cut in two dimensions. A more efficient and powerful pivot-beam laser on the other has X axis-travel capability.

Punch-laser machines are high power lasers that can cut metals with up to 3,500 watts. They perform several tasks including punching, marking, contouring and bending. They are mostly used to cut outer part and intricate inner contours. Pulsed laser machines on the other hand produce high power output for short period. They are ideal for piercing because of their ability to produce high power output in a short time.

Laser Cutting provides detailed information on Laser Cutting, Laser Cutting Companies, Laser Cutting Machines, Laser Cutting Services and more. Laser Cutting is affiliated with Lean Manufacturing Seminars.